Marvel's Plan B

Marvel Studios' swift firing of Jonathan Majors after he was found guilty of assaulting and harassing his ex-girlfriend has sparked speculation on how the entertainment giant will work around his absence from upcoming projects.

The Loki actor, 34, is facing up to a year behind bars after being convicted on two misdemeanor assault and harassment charges at the conclusion of a two-week domestic violence trial on Monday. The screen star, who had pleaded not guilty, was acquitted of two other harassment and assault charges.

Majors was arrested in March after being accused of assaulting Grace Jabbari, a movement coach he met on the set of Marvel's Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, during a New York SUV ride. Prosecutors said that Jabbari sustained a broken finger, a laceration to her ear and bruises as a result of the attack.

Jabbari's lawyer Brittany Henderson said in a statement that "justice has been served," while hailing the verdict as proof that "no abuser, no matter how powerful they may seem, is above the law."

Conversely, Majors' attorney, Priya Chaudhry, told Newsweek in a statement that it "is clear that the jury did not believe Grace Jabbari's story of what happened in the SUV because they found that Mr. Majors did not intentionally cause any injuries to her. We are grateful for that.

"We are disappointed, however, that despite not believing Ms. Jabbari, the jury nevertheless found that Mr. Majors was somehow reckless while she was attacking him."

The statement concluded that Majors "still has faith in the process and looks forward to fully clearing his name."

Following his arrest, Majors was dropped by his publicists, the Lede Company, and management, Entertainment 360, among the withdrawal of other opportunities. Creative Artists Agency also reportedly dropped Majors before his arrest for "brutal conduct" towards its staff, according to Variety. In the most high-profile severing of ties, Majors was also dismissed by Marvel Studios, which had big plans for him.

Majors had been slated to become the Marvel Cinematic Universe's overarching new villain, Kang the Conqueror, and had already appeared in the first season of Disney+ series Loki and the film Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.

He was on board to appear as the supervillain in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty in 2026 and Avengers: Secret Wars in 2027, a move that would have solidified Majors' rise as an A-list leading man following his lauded turn in HBO's cult sci-fi hit Lovecraft Country.

Industry analysts are now watching to see whether Disney-owned Marvel Studios will go in the direction of recasting Majors' character, or instead opt to rebuild the franchise around another of its major villains.

The Kang Dynasty has recently been renamed Avengers 5, leading to the belief that the studio could pivot toward an alternative character, according to The Hollywood Reporter. In November, Variety reported that Loki creator Michael Waldron is on board to write the screenplay for Kang Dynasty. This could be an indication of the upcoming films being built around another character.

Should another actor be drafted in to replace Majors as Kang, there would certainly be precedent on the studio's part. Marvel has previously recast a number of roles in MCU, including replacing Terrence Howard with Don Cheadle in Iron Man 2, William Hurt with Harrison Ford after Hurt's death, and most infamously, recasting the Hulk character when it swapped out Edward Norton in favor of Mark Ruffalo.

Adding to the mystery, Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars are currently without a director. Last month, filmmaker Destin Daniel Cretton exited as Kang Dynasty's director, perhaps signaling a creative overhaul. Weeks later, it was announced that Waldron was on board to write the movie's screenplay.

Newsweek has contacted representatives of Disney via email for comment.

Outside of the Marvel Universe, Majors appears in a starring role in the much-hyped Searchlight film Magazine Dreams. However, parent company Disney quietly removed the project from its release schedule back in October.

Expected to be fodder for awards season off the back of Majors' performance, the film followed an aspiring bodybuilder prone to bouts of uncontrollable rage. The film had been scheduled for a December release, in line with award contenders. A rescheduled date—should the film see the light of day at all—has not yet been announced.

A sentencing hearing for Majors is set for February 6, 2024.